If being addicted to sports is a drug then I'm Lindsay Lohan and Lawrence Taylor combined
I express my views in the world of sports. Mainly College Basketball, NBA, NFL, Fantasy Sports and the NFL and NBA Drafts.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

2015 NFL Draft: Top 5 Positional Rankings: Interior Defensive Line

3 Technique DT/5 Technique DETerms and definitions via Pro Football Focus for more visit: https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/04/23/2014-defensive-prototypes-the-d-line/
The 3-technique is the pass-rushing defensive tackle in a 4-3. He is the guy tasked with bringing interior pressure and wreaking havoc in the backfield.
3-techniques are shaded outside of the guard to one side of the formation, usually isolating them one-on-one with that blocker and giving them the best chance to create pressure.

NFL Prototypes: Gerald McCoy and Geno Atkins

NFL Prototype Size: 6-1 to 6-4/290-310 lbs

Traditionally, the 5-technique was a two-gap player. Just like the nose tackle, 3-4 ends were needed to control the blocker lined up over them and be able to stop the run headed through either the B or C-gap to his side of the field.

With the move towards one-gap systems regardless of the number of players with their hands in the dirt the 3-4 DE has become a far more flexible player. Guys like JJ Watt are built like old-school 5-techniques with impressive length and size but they have the speed and quickness to ply their trade at multiple spots along that front.
Watt is the new-look 5-technique prototype.

The NFL wants the 5-technique to have that length in order to keep an offensive tackle away from his body and be able to react in space, but he also needs speed and athleticism that they were never expected to possess in the past.

NFL Prototypes: JJ Watt and Muhammed Wilkerson

NFL Prototype Size: 6-4 to 6-7/290-315 lbs

1. LEONARD WILLIAMS-USC6-5/302NFL Comparison: Richard Seymour/Gerald McCoyLikely Career Role: Star DT/DE that can fit any systemDraft Range: Top 52. ARIK ARMSTEAD-OREGON6-7/292NFL Comparison: Calais CampbellLikely Career Role: Starting 5 technique DE in a 3-4, has Pro Bowl potentialDraft Range: 15-Early 2nd RD3. CARL DAVIS-IOWA6-5/320NFL Comparison: Red BryantLikely Career Role: Starting 4-3 DT, better as a role player then your top DT.Draft Range: 2nd-3rd4. MICHAEL BENNETT-OHIO ST.6-2/293NFL Comparison: Mike DanielsLikely Career Role: Solid starting 3 technique DT that can fit either 3-4 or 4-3, is undersized so he will be best suited if he's playing next to a dominant nose tackle.Draft Range: 2nd-3rd5 (tie). HENRY ANDERSON-STANFORD6-6/294NFL Comparison: less athletic Cameron JordanLikely Career Role: Perfect fit as a 5 technique DE, solid/safe prospect with a high motor and college productivity.Draft Range: 2nd-4th5 (tie). MARIO EDWARDS-FSU6-3/279NFL Comparison: Michael BennettLikely Career Role: Perfect fit as a 5 technique DE with the size to play LDE or DT in a 4-3Draft Range: 2nd-4thNose Tackles
The age of the massive 3-4 defensive lineman has passed. Fewer and fewer teams are using the old two-gap system and man-mountain linemen are growing thin on the ground. Most teams that run the 3-4 in today’s NFL are doing so within the realms of a one-gap system, rather than asking their linemen to occupy multiple gaps.

The modern 3-4 nose tackle can’t just be a massive space-eater. He needs to be able to affect an offense in sub-packages and on passing downs as more than just a sink hole for blockers. Poe can be that guy and for now he is the new prototype for the position.

The 1-technique does much the same job as the 0-tech, except that he is shaded between the center and one of the guards, and is rarely expected to control two gaps. They are, however, expected to command the double team from the center and guard lined up over him, and thus free up other defenders to be, at worst, one-on-one with their blockers.

A prototypical 1-technique doesn't just look great against the run himself, but allows players around him to reap the benefits of that extra occupied blocker. He can improve an entire run defense.

NFL Prototypes: Dontari Poe (3-4 NT) and Marcel Dareus (4-4 NT)

NFL Prototype Size: 6-0 to 6-3/310-335 lbs

1. DANNY SHELTON-WASHINGTON 6-2/339NFL Comparison: BJ RajiLikely Career Role: Starting nose tackle in a 3-4 or 4-3 with Pro Bowl skill setDraft Range: 7-232. MALCOLM BROWN-TEXAS6-2/319NFL Comparison: Dan WilliamsLikely Career Role: Starting nose tackle with versatility and quickness to play the 3 technique in a 3-4 or 4-3Draft Range: Mid-Late 1st3. EDDIE GOLDMAN-FSU6-4/336NFL Comparison: Randy Starks/Kevin WilliamsLikely Career Role: Starting nose tackle in a 3-4 or 4-3Draft Range: Late 1st-Early 2nd4. JORDAN PHILLIPS-OKLAHOMA6-5/329NFL Comparison: Terrance Knighton/Albert HaynesworthLikely Career Role: Starting 3-4 nose tackle, boom/bust prospect due to motor and inconsistency. Has Pro Bowl skills but could just as easily end up being another Haynesworth. Draft Range: Late 1st-2nd5. GRADY JARRETT-CLEMSON6-1/304NFL Comparison: Kyle WillimsLikely Career Role: Starting 1 gap nose tackle in a 4-3 with the quickness to play the 3 technique, short armed but very strong player that can carve out a niche like Kyle WilliamsDraft Range: 2nd-3rd